Over the past school year I have completed several books, both assigned and independently chosen. However, it wasn't until the last independent reading study of the semester that I finally found a book that compelled me to its storyline and characters, as well as challenged me to understand the author's futuristic slang language and dialogue in the story. Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange serves us as a graphic reminder of the negative aspects of the human spirit, and the resulting repercussions that may occur.
             In the beginning of the novel the main character Alex and his "droogs" live a life filled with crime and violence. After numerous crime sprees, Alex is finally apprehended by the police and charged with murder. Due to the increasing prison population at the time, the British government discovered a new way of attempting to reform criminals. Society's failure to reform Alex into a law-abiding citizen proves the fact that Alex's evil nature comes from within and cannot be changed.
             Alex disregards the rules of society and is driven by an unknown force within him to commit violent crimes at a constant rate. In one particular scene, Alex and his thug friends, rape a woman while forcing her husband to watch. This disgusting act illustrates Alex's true demonic nature. The significance of this particular scene is clearly apparent later on in the book. Alex even goes as far as double-crossing his friends by physically attacking them. Not realizing his mistake, Alex goes about committing even more crimes with his friends. Alex's downfall is brought upon him when his friends Dim, Pete, and Georgie betray him and purposely allow him to get arrested for murdering a woman.
             The prison situation in futuristic London was not promising, especially for such a young boy like Alex. He realized he would not be able to spend life in prison and after hearing from a security gu...